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By R. H. Jacoby, V. J. Berry

Future depletion performance and ultimate oil recovery from reservoirs producing under volumetric control are often predicted with the aid of a material balance equation. When the reservoir fluid is very volatile, however, certain assumptions implicit in the use of the conventional methods are no longer valid. This is became laboratory differential vaporization test procedures do not adequately represent the reservoir depletion process and the performance of surface separation facilities. In such cases recovery of stock tank oil per unit of pressure decline can be predicted only from a detailed knowledge of the separator conditions and the over-all composition of the fluid entering the wellbore at each stage of depletion. Surface recovery is not simply related to the total quantity of liquid flowing into the well under reservoir conditions. In order to improve predictions for reservoirs which produce volatile oils, a step wise method of calculation has been developed. This method uses relative permeability data and multicomponent flash calculations to predict oil and gas production as a function of reservoir pressure. Calculations are presented for a reservoir containing a volatile crude oil, and predicted tank oil recovery by primary depletion is more than twice that predicted by conventional methods which are known to be adequate for ordinary black crude oils. Calculated maximum produced gas-oil ratio is less than one-fourth of the conventional prediction. Wellstream compositions have also been used to determine variation in stock tank oil composition and liquid content of the separator gas. This information is of particular importance for crude stabilization calculations and for design of gasoline plant facilities to recover LPG and natural gasoline. INTRODUCTION The estimation of oil reserves and the prediction of future recovery performance of petroleum reservoirs is a frequent task of the petroleum engineer. If the reservoir produces under volumetric control, performance calculations for primary depletion are made by combining oil and gas material balances with the gas-oil flow characteristics of the reservoir rock. For black oil reservoirs, the Schilthuis1 type material balance is commonly employed. For gas or gas-condensate reservoirs, where only one phase is flowing under bottom-hole conditions, a more simplified material balance is used. In the period in which these material balance methods were conceived and put into practice, it was common to classify reservoirs according to the type of fluid produced as (1) black oil reservoirs, or (2) gas or gas-condensate reservoirs. Recently, however, deeper drilling and more extensive studies of reservoir fluid properties have led to the recognition of reservoir fluids with phase characteristics between those of ordinary black oils, and gases or gas-condensate fluids. These intermediate fluids contain relatively large amounts of the hydrocarbons ethane through decane and are found in deep, high temperature (250°F) reservoirs. Such fluids are often referred to as high shrinkage crudes or "volatile oils." They are usually characterized by tank oil gravities above 45° API. high solution gas/oil ratios,

Jan 1, 1958

President MRS. ROBERT HURSH River Road, Silvermine Norwalk, Conn. First Vice -President MRS. WILLIAM C. SCHNEIDER 45 Wayne Ave. White Plains, N. Y. Second Vice-President MRS. ERNEST H. WOLFES 180 Riverside Drive New York, N. Y. Third Vice-President MRS. JOHN C. BURTON 271 Fox Meadow Road Scarsdale, N. Y. Fourth Vice-President MRS. S. A. IONIDES 379 Marion Street Denver, Colo.

Jan 1, 1941

By Effingham Humphrey

THE Lehigh Valley. Coal Co. finished the rebuilding of its Drifton No. 2 breaker at Drifton, Pa., in the summer of 1917. The new construction comprises an addition and the complete remodeling of the old breaker. It is of interest to note that the old structure was the first iron breaker erected in the anthracite region. THE OLD BREAKER This old breaker was built by the Cross Creek Coal Co., under the direction of the late Eckley B. Cole, in 1888-89, and was fully described by him in the Transactions.1 The columns were cast iron, 8,'10 and 12 in. square. The floors and partitions in pockets were cast-iron ribbed plates. The struts were cast iron of "H" section; the other members were of structural iron either rolled I-beams or built-up sections. The sizes of the rolled beams varied from 6 to 20 in. deep, while the built-up sections, made of plates and angles, varied from 6 to 63 in. in depth, so that there apparently was no rule to determine the type of section used. In the remodeling of the old structure, practically everything was taken clown excepting the columns and roof, and such beams as were necessary for temporary construction purposes, and, therefore, a close inspection of the old structural members could be made and the effect of the acid water oil them could be noted. The cast-iron members were but slightly attacked by the water, while the wrought-iron beams, in the wet places, were corroded almost to failure.

Jan 2, 1918

By Walter McDermott

THIS machine is an improvement on the well-known endless traveling belt used for dressing slimes in many mills ; the chief point of difference, and constituting the essential advantage of the present over the old form, is the application to the machine of a secondary agitating or shaking motion, in addition to the ordinary progressive motion of-the belt. In the machine as heretofore made, the inclined belt or apron moved slowly up against a thin stream of water and ore, depositing the concentrations carried over in a tank placed below, through which the belt travelled, of course, in a reversed position. By reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that in this main principle the new modification does not differ materially; but the means by which it is carried out are essentially different. The machine consists of a substantial frame of mood, F, Figs. 41, 42, and 43, within which hang the shaking frame and rollers, B B, A, Endless apron ; B, Apron frame and rollers ; C, Driving drum ; D, pulleys; El Shaft and connecting rods; F, Wooden frame; G, Shaft of regulating Pulley ; H, Yokes. supporting the upper half of the travelling apron, A, which passes below around the driving drum, C, in the water-tank, J. On leaving the water-tank, the belt passes over the guiding and tightener pulley, G. The ends of the shaking-frame, B, are provided with iron yokes, H H, bored to admit the shafts of the end rollers, and carrying a lug, by which attachment is made to the connecting rods,

Jan 1, 1875

By AIME AIME

ONE test is worth a thousand expert opinions, say the engineers of the John A. Roebling's Sons Co. of Trenton, N. J. Confronted with the job of building the cables for the new Hudson River Bridge between Fort Lee and upper Manhattan, the Roebling organization, in spite of its long and varied experience in building cables for suspension bridges of various sizes, recognized that old yardsticks would be of little value in estimating safety factors for the immense span across the Hudson.

Jan 1, 1929

By T. F. McCormick

THIS year, 1950, is the golden anniversary of the construction and operation in this country of a tube mill for the sole purpose of fabricating aluminum alloy tubing. For a short period prior to the beginning of this mill, aluminum alloy tubing was obtained from foreign sources or produced in mills fabricating other metals. Indeed, it was a very short period because aluminum itself was a newcomer in the field of metals. The first sheet rolling mill had been in operation just eight years and a rod rolling mill for the production of wire and cable had been functioning one year. The first tube mill for aluminum was built by the Aluminum Co. of America in May 1900 and started production with four draw benches and five men, including the mill superintendent. The building itself was a lean-to attached to a sheet-rolling mill at New Kensington, Pa. The cost of equipment, including the draw benches, dies, mandrels, and other tools, was about $5000. This figure seems absurd in the present day but nevertheless it was questioned at that time whether or not such a large sum should be spent to embark on a new and uncertain venture. The initial production system for the new mill consisted of casting round hollow ingots in a tilting-type iron mold, reducing the ingots to bloom size outside the plant, and finally drawing to size on the draw benches. This method of producing aluminum alloy tubing survived just two years, as blooms of satisfactory quality were not obtained consistently. It was superseded by the cupping method in which a 24-in. diam circle cut from a rolled plate was formed into a tube bloom using first a small cupping press and then a push bench. It was stated that tubing so produced was limited to a maximum diameter of 2 3/4 in. and to wall thicknesses varying from 12 to 24 gage. However, for the first time all the operations were performed at one plant and the result was a quality product. Later larger cupping presses and push benches were obtained and the method continued to be the principal one for aluminum alloy tubing for almost a quarter of a century. During the interim the use of a Alan Mannesmann -type billet piercer was explored and it was used to some extent, but failed to produce consistently a smooth inside surface suitable for drawing with aluminum alloys. Experiments started during the latter stages of World War I in the production of tube blooms with a hydraulic extrusion press, led to the use of this type of equipment to make tube blooms for further drawing during a change-over period extending from 1925 until 1930. At this time the cupping method was discarded completely. From these humble beginnings, the aluminum alloy tubing business expanded until well over six million pounds were produced in a single month in the United States during World War II. The major portion of this production was in strong alloys which did not appear in the tubing picture until 1022, when 17S alloy tubing was introduced for aircraft construction.

Jan 1, 1951

By Aloys H. Wohlrab

[THE conditions that govern the selection of a suitable type of detachable bit for the small isolated mine, for rock work and tunnel contracting and for the large mine are quite dissimilar, therefore intelligent recommendation of a particular make of detachable bit must involve consideration of many factors. Small, isolated mines may find advantageous a detachable bit that a larger mine cannot afford to use, because of more efficient conventional steel sharpening and steel-distribution practice, but a small mine may of be able to adopt the practice of larger mines because of necessary capital expendites for equipment for detachable-bit sharpening and shanking. The perfect detachable bit, suitable for all conditions, has n yet been developed. CONVENTIONAL DRILL BIT IN USE That drilling speed increases as the hit gauge decreases is well known, but since small-hole drilling is the exception rather than the rule the rate of such increase is probably not so generally recognized. Tests married out by Holman Brothers Limited1 with 7/8-in. show that when bit sizes are reduced from. 1 ½ in. 1 3/8 in., and 1 3/16 in., to 1 3/8 in., 1¼ in., and it' in., respectively, the volume of the hole is15 per cent less and the drilling speed 4q per cent higher. Recent tests by the United States Bureau of Mines2,3in hard, uniform basalt showed that a reduction in average gauge from 2.077 to 1.826 in., a difference of 0.251 in., gave an increased drilling speed of 65 per cent. The limits to which a drill hole may be extended depend upon the loss in gauge. Since the conventional bit with 5° and 14° clearances did not possess sufficient reaming edge to permit the smaller gauge changes that were required for small-hole drilling, experiments were made in bit construction with a view to correcting this deficiency. This resulted in the adoption of the full reaming cross bit (having full Carr characteristics) by some mines.4 In order to drill holes having a minimum taper from the collar to the bottom of the hole, full reaming center-hole cross bits with 90° cutting angles, 5° and I4° wing tapers, forged on 7/8-in. quarter-octagon drill rods, are used in the conventional drill-steel practice at Hollinger. In the steel shop close attention is given to the condition of the dies and dollies, which, combined with a rigid inspection of the finished bit, ensures as nearly a perfect bit as can be forged economically. Shop practices and costs have been discussed in earlier papers.5,6 The method by which the radii for the special dies used for forging bits of different gauge diameter are obtained so that the points and reaming edges cut circles of the same diameter has been discussed by Hibbert.7 REQUIREMENTS FOR DETACHABLE BIT FOR HOLLINGER Under these circumstances, it was apparent that it would be difficult to introduce a detachable bit that could successfully compete with the conventional bit already in]

Jan 1, 1942

By AIME AIME

THE Seventh International Petroleum Exposition and Congress to be held in Tulsa, Okla., Oct. 4 to 11, inclusive, in true western spirit promises to be bigger and better than ever. The Exposition has become an established institution. It gives opportunity to petroleum engineers, technologists, and operators to see each year at one place what the tool makers and machinery manufacturers have to offer which is new or better. It has truly become a place "where men, methods and machinery meet." It is also a convenient focus for technical meetings of various kinds devoted to petroleum and natural gas problems. 'The Petroleum Division of the A. I. M. E. has for several years held its chief fall meeting at Tulsa just preceding the opening of the Es- position. This year our meeting will be on Oct. 2 and 3 and it will be held as usual at Hotel Mayo. The Mid- Continent Oil and Gas Association will, as usual, hold a meeting during the Exposition and this year the Petroleum Division of the A. S. M. E. will hold a three- day session, Oct. 6-8, in the auditorium on the Esposition grounds. In all, six technical sessions are planned by this Society, and aside from reports of committees some 20 technical papers are to be presented. Members of the Institute should attend its own meeting and stay over for as many days as possible for the other meeting at which they will hear and see much of helpful interest.

Jan 1, 1930

By H. W. Hardinge

Disregarding for the present the economic side of a new device, let us turn to that feature of the conical pebble-mill which is of interest from a scientific point of view, and consider the device as a puzzle in which the theories of the cylindrical type of mill have been increased. Many articles have been written on the theory of the tube-mill, and explanations have been made which do not explain ; but these have evolved suggestions of practice which have resulted in changes in the tube as to length, diameter, feed, discharge, speed of rotation, rotation on hollow trunnions, rotation on rings, and changes in the operation as to quantity and size of pebbles, charge of load above or below the axis, crushing by causing the larger pieces of the material of the charge to act as grinders, whether crushing is abrasive or impactive, etc. The practical worker in crushing. is first interested in the endeavor to reach an econonlic means of accomplishing a desired end; but the improvements in crushing-practice have been largely left to the manufacturer of machinery, who, as a rule, has little, if any, knowledge of the specific requirements— such as granulation, sizing for concentration without pulverizing the metals, instead of pulverizing the rock or gangue; the metals being the more friable, while the rock is tough and not so easily disintegrated. A reversal of this practice is the aim of sliming direct for cyanidation or pulverizing for cement, etc. In the ordinary cylindrical mill, having a diameter of 4 or

Jan 1, 1909

By R. H. Atkinson

With the object of improving the melting, casting, and working of palladium and 95.5 pct Pd-4.5 pct Ru, the effects of different melting atmospheres (reducing, oxidizing, and neutral), crucible linings, and annealing atmospheres have been studied. Some interesting observations are included about the solubility and diffusion of gases in palladium. THE object of the present work was to ascertain the effect of oxidizing, inert, and reducing ambient atmospheres on the melting and casting of palladium and a Pd-Ru alloy commonly used for jewelry. The need for such a study was indicated during World War I1 when jewelers experienced difficulty in their attempts to make small castings of the torch-melted Pd-Ru alloy by the lost-wax process. When the metal was melted under oxidizing conditions similar to those used for platinum, the castings were gassy; on the other hand, if the melting atmosphere was reducing, the castings were hot-torn and brittle. General Experimental Procedure Pure palladium sponge (99.9 pct Pd) and pure ruthenium powder (99.8 pct Ru) were used for making small ingots (50 g) of palladium and 95.5 pct Pd-4.5 pct Ru by induction melting. The coil, 3 in. high by 2 in. ID with 16 turns, was energized by a 20 kva Ajax high frequency converter. The melting crucibles, so-called sand crucibles, which were made of a highly refractory fireclay, were lined with different materials, including proprietary magnesia, alundum, zircon, and zirconia

Jan 1, 1957

The new Ceramic Engineering Building of the University of Illinois is to be formally dedicated on Nov. 20 and 21. The occasion will be made one of great interest to the clay-workers of the country. It is expected that the exercises will be attended by many representatives of the architectural, structural, mining, geological, chemical, and manufacturing interests. In connection with the dedication exercises, an industrial conference will be -held, in which a number of topics of current interest to the ceramic engineer, the clay-worker and the manufacturer will be discussed by well-known experts. : The number of students registered in the College of Engineering of the University of Illinois eleven days after the beginning of registration - for the new year, is as follows: Architecture, 116; Architectural Engineering, 167; Ceramic Engineering, 46; Civil Engineering, 190; Electrical Engineering, 266; Mechanical Engineering, 273; Mining Engineering, 25; Municipal and Sanitary Engineering, 26; Railway Engineering, 34; total, 1,143. The enrollment of students in the whole University, not including the College of Medicine, the College of Dentistry and the School of Pharmacy, which are located in Chicago, is 5,21.4.

Jan 10, 1916

By A. J. Jacobs

THE purpose of this note is to draw attention to a set of tables, recently compiled in Rocketdyne Research Report No. 64-19, under the title "Crystal-lographic Data for Indexing Cubic Twin Reflections and Cementite (Fe3C) Reflections in Electron Diffraction Patterns."' These tables were an outgrowth of electron-diffraction work conducted over the past several years on steels, precipitation-hardening aluminum- and nickel-base alloys, molybdenum, tantalum, and tantalum-base alloys. The first table lists the indices of possible twin reflections for all the possible twinning planes in bcc and fcc lattices. The twin reflections correspond

Jan 1, 1965

By W. B. Tijmann

Maintaining safe, yet economical, slope geometries in a mining operation is paramount. When design analysis and engineering judgement have dictated conservative and usually more expensive problem solutions, monitoring has often proven to be a valuable method in dealing with potential slope instability. A well planned and executed monitoring program can allow operation at a lower theoretical margin of safety. Monitoring provides a valuable check on design parameters and can measure effects of remedial improvements. Warning of impending failure can often be established well in advance. The monitoring problem situations in civil engineering works and open pit mining are much alike. Instruments used for monitoring in both industries are often the same. In this paper, geotechnical instruments for measuring deformation and groundwater pressure in rock and overburden are discussed with a broad-brush approach. Results obtained over extended time periods are presented in a graphical presentation for a case history. Descriptions of various types of instruments, mostly used to monitor stability of rock slopes, are discussed, and data analysis and approximate costs are presented.

Jan 1, 1983

By R. D. Irving

THE object of the present paper is to give an outline account of the mineral resources of the State of Wisconsin, so far as they are now known, including both metallic ores and non-metallic useful mineral substances. The only previous publication making any attempt at such an account is one of a popular nature, prepared by the writer for Snyder and Van Vechten's Historical Atlas of Wisconsin, which was published at Milwaukee in 1878. The data upon which the statements of the following pages are based are chiefly from the

Jan 1, 1880

By Ronald J. McGregor, Anton R. Hendriksz

INTRODUCTION The NIMCIX contactor was developed in the late sixties at the National Institute for Metallurgy in South Africa, for the main purpose of extracting uraniuy from relatively low-grade uranium solutions. ' The concept was sufficiently developed by 1974 to permit the operation of a 1500 litre per minute column to treat unclarified urgnium-bearing solution under industrial conditions. The plant operated so successfully that several large-scale units have subsequent18 teen constructed and are operating efficiently. ' Total resin consumption figures as210w as 3 per cent per annum have been reported, and the extraction efficiencies of the installations have been exceptionally good. All the solutions treated have been acidic in nature and in every case have been of such a nature as to significantly depress the maximum uranium loading on the resin beads. The chemical constituents of the leach solution fed to the loading column determines the ease with which the soluble uranium can be absorbed by an ion exchange resin. The concentration of competing ions and various resin foulants define the nature of the continuous ion exchange equipment required for efficient extraction performance. The basic NIMCIX concept is retained in these various alternate designs, but batch or continuous elution methods with fully automated or manual control systems may be selected for the different process solution conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE NIMCIX CONTACTOR The NIMCIX ion exchange column is a multi-stage fluidized bed contactor which is designed to permit a counter-current flow of solution and resin in order to maximize extraction efficiency. The flow o resin is periodic, based on the Cloete and Streat 5 principle of reverse flow. The basic operating cycle can be divided into five periods, as illustrated in Figure 1. For the purposes of describing the cycle, the loading column is considered; how- ever, a similar sequence may be applied to the operation of a NIMCIX continuous elution column. S'I'EP 1: During the forward flow period, Solution flows up through the column and fluidizes the resin contained in each stage. The uranium depleted solution overflows the upper flared-section of the column as the tail solution. Step 2: The flow of solution to the column is temporarily stopped and the resin is allowed to Settle onto the plates in the column. STEP 3: During the reverse flow period, a fixed volume of solution is drained from the column to the transfer vessel. This flow causes resin transfer to occur from stage to stage and also out of the bottom stage. At the end of this period, which expires when the low level switch (LS) is actuated, some of the resin is left in the conical section of the column and the pipe interconnecting the column and the vessel. STEP 4: The cone flush period ensures that all the resin left in the cone of the column and the pipe is transferred to the transfer vessel before forward flow commences. STEP 5: The loaded resin in the transfer vessel, which has been isolated from the column, can either be hydraulically transferred to the top of the elution column or eluted in the vessel before being transferred to the top of the loading column. The major advantages associated with the NIMCIX concept are: (i) Simple method of operation (ii) Contactor can readily be scaled up to large diameters. (iii) Because the resin does not pass through pumps or airlifts, and valves cannot be closed on resin beads at any time, the resin losses are exceptionally low. (iv) Operating costs are low. (v) Relatively few valves in the system. (vi) Stable operation is achieved over a wide range of feed rates and concentrations.

Jan 1, 1980

By James Barr

WHEN phosphate mining operations first commenced in Tennessee the loss of both high- and low-grade material was large, because of the crude hand methods employed. Practically all rock smaller than 2 in. was thrown back into the pits and covered with the overburden of subsequent openings. With the advent of mechanical washers and other mining machinery, together with the abolishing of the contract system, the waste has been steadily diminished, until at present only the finest sand is being rejected; and even this is not lost, for in the majority of cases the water, slime, and sand from the washers are run into large settling ponds where practically all of the phosphate-bearing material is caught and stored for future use, or until it is profitable to ship lower grades. The latest equipment used to recover the fine and lower-grade phosphate sand includes Dorr thickeners, settling tanks, Dorr classifiers and settling ponds served by locomotive cranes with clam-shell buckets, making it possible to save material averaging as fine as 200 mesh. To attempt saving finer material would necessitate a different type of drier, which might be patterned after the multiple-deck roasters. The present tailing runs from 15 to 25 per cent. of available phosphate, which, however, as mentioned before, does not represent a total loss to possible future operations. The demand of the consumer is the greatest factor in regulating the recovery at present. In the mining of blue rock, which does not require washing treatment, the main waste material is the capping of low-grade kidney forma-tion, generally used for backfilling of the rooms. By reason of the introduction of improved methods in the early stages and the re-mining of territory skimmed over at the start, at the present time the net result of all operations is a comparatively small loss.

Jan 2, 1916

By H. C. Vacher

THE limiting concentrations of carbon and oxygen which may co-exist at equilibrium in liquid iron are important in determining the degree to which liquid steel may be refined before it is deoxidized. Most refining processes depend upon the oxidation of a highly carburized iron which invariably results in contaminating the steel with oxygen. The oxygen .thus introduced presents many problems to the refiner, who in turn has attempted to rid the steel of this impurity by deoxidation with elements such as manganese, silicon and aluminum. The importance of the limiting concentrations of carbon and oxygen is accentuated in view of a number of recent researches which have indicated in many instances the existence of relations between oxide inclusions and dissolved oxygen and physical properties and chemical behavior of steel. The determination of the equilibrium concentrations of carbon and oxygen existing in iron under steelmaking conditions is obviously of fundamental importance. It has been generally assumed that the product of the equilibrium concentrations of carbon and oxygen in liquid iron is a constant and that this product is directly proportional to the carbon monoxide pressure in equilibrium with the liquid iron. Herty1,2 has computed values for this product based on open-hearth data which are all in the neighborhood of 0.01 to 0.03 (per cent. FeO X per cent. C) for temperatures in the vicinity of 1550° to 1600 C. and one atmosphere pressure. Kinzel and Egan3 have attempted to determine the value of this product by exposing liquid iron to carbon monoxide at one atmosphere pressure. The value reported by them was 0.0005 at 1550°. C. In. order to apply certain equations to the rate of carbon elimination in the open-hearth process, Feild4 found it necessary to assume. a value of 0.0102 at 1580° C. for this

Jan 1, 1931

By Joseph Perry

MAGNESITE is found in 22 California counties, but many of the deposits are too small or too impure to be of commercial value. Several of sub-stantial size and quality were entirely exhausted by wartime operation. At present, three properties comprise the only known workable deposits in the state. Of these, the Western mine and the Patterson mine have been known and worked for many years, and have been described in con-siderable detail in various publications, therefore need only brief mention here, because of their proximity to the Bald Eagle mine. The latter, recently developed, is unusual in type of ore deposit, plant design and operation, as well as products made, and very little has been written concerning it. WESTERN MINE The Western mine, 32 miles south of Livermore, Calif., was formerly operated by C. S. Maltby. It has been a consistent producer for many years.1 The ore is of amorphous variety, occurring along fracture zones in serpentine. The veins vary greatly in width, the average being perhaps 8 ft., with the maximum indicated in one early stope of 40 ft.; 2 ft. is considered the minimum for economical mining. The strike of the veins is predominantly north and south, with dip to the west varying from 40° to 75°. Walls are well defined and as a rule firm and easily supported, Veins range in length from a few hundred feet to 1000 or more. Their maximum vertical extent is about 350 ft., but many run less. Early mining consisted of open-cut and glory-hole work on the larger outcrops. This was followed underground by a modified shrinkage system, the waste and low-grade horses being removed by hand sorting on the tramming levels and transported to surface dumps. Filled-stope mining is used now, in order to eliminate the handling of waste, which has

Jan 1, 1938

By Sir Albert E. Kitson

The manganese ore deposits of the Gold Coast, British West Africa, occur in very ancient rocks, of both sedimentary and metamorphic types. In certain respects they have a strong resemblance to those of India and Brazil, as contrasted with those of Tertiary age in Georgia, but in this paper no careful comparison with them can be made. Viewed from the present condition of the manganiferous rocks, the oldest deposits are in the sediments. Later than these are the progressively metamorphosed representatives of these sediments. Youngest are the products of decay and degradation with the concentration of manganese oxide in the rocks of both groups. The oldest occurrences are in argillaceous and siliceous phyllites and slates, which show only a moderate degree of metamorphism. They belong to a series which also includes mudstones, sandstones, grits, conglomerates and subordinate limestones, with tuffs and lava-flows, largely of basic types. This has been named the Birrim System. Its age is unknown, for no definite fossils have been discovered in it. Since these non-fossiliferous strata at many plaees are of a character which in many parts of the world are suitable for the preservation of fossils, and which contain them, it is assumed that the Gold Coast deposits are pre-Cambrian. These rocks of the Birrim System have normally a northeast-southwest strike, and are folded, but not to any very great degree except in certain belts. From the Eastern Province of the Gold Coast they may be traversed diagonally across their strike for upwards of 600 miles, to the extreme northwestern corner of the Northern Territories. Thence they probably extend much farther into French territory.

Jan 1, 1927

By Chas. H. Behre, Arbiter. Nathaniel

Two outstanding factors characterize most undertakings in the mineral industries: (1) mineral deposits are not equally distributed over the earth but are localized by natural processes, and (2) the mineral industries are largely based upon wasting assets. Neither of these factors is invariably true, for a few mineral materials, such as water, are essentially world-wide and others are replaced periodically by processes not unlike crop production. Indeed, with some, such as the salts in the sea, the supply is cyclic in short or long periods, whereas others, like water, though locally or periodically in short supply, are essentially inexhaustible. But to the extent that most minerals are limited to certain areas and are "permanently" consumed, any industry founded upon them, by implication, demands great care in planning for the most effective extraction-the essence of wise and conservative expenditure. Several less unusual yet also truly fundamental factors in the economics of the mineral industry are those involving (1) the various kinds and properties of mineral materials, which influence their use; (2) their geo- logic and geographic availability; and (3) the techniques unique to their discovery, exploration, and utilization. This chapter is designed primarily as a brief background for later ones and as a summary of the several un- usual or at least special factors and of their effect upon the economics of the mineral industry. The social and political and especially the economic aspects of the industry are the main subjects of this volume and are dealt with in extended fashion in subsequent chapters. Fundamental Characteristics of Mineral Deposits DEFINITIONS Minerals are naturally occurring compounds of nonliving matter, each technically defined as having (1) a chemical composition that may vary

Jan 1, 1959